Monday, April 29, 2024

Weekend Highlights

It was a soggy, windy weekend but we made the most of it. Here were our highlights. 

- Saturday was the last day of Target’s car seat drop off program (you drop off an old car seat - they recycle it and give you 20% off a new one. We dropped off an infant car seat and bought a harness to booster car seat for Taco. Win win.) The boys were VERY wild at the store so our visit was very brief.

- We decided to check out a new-to-us library that is across the street from Target. Our library is always super busy - this one was SO QUIET! The boys enjoyed playing with new-to-them toys. 

Taco found a Pokémon book for Paul


- Taco napped and I read/dozed a bit during his nap. Phil took Paul to his golf lessons. Is he not the cutest little golfer? Phil is an excellent golfer and has wonderful memories of golfing with his late father so I am hoping my boys take to golf so they can make those memories with their dad. I’d like to learn to golf alongside the boys but we will see if that happens. I’ve found it to be a hard sport to learn.

- After the golf lesson, Phil took both boys to the park and I worked on meal prep. What does meal prep look like this week in our house? I blitzed carrots, onion, garlic, and celery for the hidden veggie marinara I will make on Tuesday, I chopped the cauliflower and chicken (and stored separately if that isn’t obvious!) for the tikka masala recipe I made last night, I husked corn and prepped the asparagus for our Saturday night meal, and I cut up peppers for snacking. I did this while listening to a fascinating Ezra Klein show about the competing interests of work and parenting. The only way to improve that meal prep hour was if I had some wine. But alas, I didn’t because I have returned to a policy of only drinking outside the home or when hosting guests now that the wine from our last gathering is gone.

- I woke up on my own at 5:45 on Sunday and felt rested so I got up and enjoyed my breakfast (oatmeal + banana) and my coffee in a silent home. This NEVER happens so I soaked it up and worked on spelling bee, wordle, and read blogs. The boys didn’t get up until 6:45! 

- I ran 4 miles both mornings - in tights. Ugh. Spring in Minnesota sucks. 

- Paul had a pretty impromptu playdate with a friend from  school and his brother at an indoor playground that he got passes to for his birthday. It was pouring rain so the perfect afternoon activity but of course sooo busy!

Now this week I go to Napa, but don’t be jealous… I will be gone 36 hours and will spend 8 hours on a plane and 4 hours in a car. I will be in Napa itself for less than 24 hours. I get in Wednesday afternoon, moderate a panel (praying to the travel Gods that nothing goes wrong with my flight), mingle with clients, sleep, hopefully workout, mingle some more at breakfast and then drive back to SFO and fly home. It’s Phil’s busiest week of the month at work so I am trying to minimize my time away, otherwise I would have spent 2 nights in Napa and attended more of this event. But so it goes. Then I get a week off from travel before going to Dallas for 3 days. And then I might get a break until July because my June PDX trip was rebooked for November. Woot woot!

How was your weekend? 

13 comments:

Birchwood Pie said...

Your weekend sounds fun, even if the weather wasn't with you. Would you believe that we had our first hot day on Sunday?

I'm almost always the first person to wake up in our house and I love getting that moment of quiet time. It's the perfect way to start the day.

Elisabeth said...

I love the golf pictures. Too cute.
Well, you know how my weekend ended...ARGH...honestly the whole thing was pretty crummy. John came home from his trip to Europe SICK, but I was also sick. I collected him from the airport on Saturday and we both had fevers. Ugh. Thankfully I'm feeling worlds better today, but then our son got hurt falling out of a hammock. Le sigh. These things happen.

Your comment about our time in Napa is so much like what my husband says. It can sound SO glamourous (he was in Paris for 3 days last week), but in reality he was a huge conference, stayed at an airport hotel, didn't eat any authentic French food, and was SICK, plus had tons of flights etc. Travelling for work is mostly just a big drag, even though it can sound very lovely.

Can't wait for you to be DONE the travel for a while. I'm so glad something got bumped from July to November.

Life of a Doctor's Wife said...

Ooooh that hour ALONE on Sunday morning sounds so lovely. And Paul is an adorable golfer. I have never golfed before -- and don't particularly want to. But it would be really sweet if your boys and Phil have golf as their "thing," or if you end up enjoying it and you can play as a family.

I had to laugh at your picture of Taco giving Paul a Pokemon book. Are the boys into Pokemon? My kid is and I DON'T GET IT. I try to be interested in her interests, but my eyes glaze over trying to listen to her describe the different types of Pokemon and what they evolve into. It sounds super complicated but also really inane? And the cartoon she loves is SO -- I am going to use a word I almost never use because I think it is overused but in this case it is the exact word I mean -- STUPID.

Good luck to you and Phil this week. I hope everything goes smoothly! And I am really hopeful you get a travel-free June!

Jenny said...

Yes, Paul is the cutest golfer ever!!! That would be a fun sport for the boys to get into.
Sounds like a good weekend in spite of the weather. You kept the boys occupied, plus you got to run PLUS you got a quiet hour to yourself on Sunday morning!
I'm laughing a Suzanne's comment above. My son was SO into Pokemon when he was younger and yeah, I never got it either.

Coco said...

Having a hobby to share with the parent is the best thing in the world, I hope Paul likes golf as much!
I love meal prepping on weekend, it's so meditative and soothing, especially with some music in the background, I always do few things. Last weekend I made crepes, a veggie/bean soup, and a pork dish for the girls.
36 hrs trip sounds intense, I'm about to leave for a day trip too, 6:40am flight and 6:30pm flight back. I prefer to be sleeping in my home than in a hotel, so that's going to be a long day but at least I'll wake up seeing the family.
I get quiet morning every day and that's my favorite time of the day. Hopefully as the boys grow, you get more of this time, so wonderful.

Mom of Children said...

I am trying to convince L to try golf but nope! Not interested. So great to have a hobby to share with your kid. We have weekends like that in NJ too where it is wet and rains and rains. Not my favorite. But looks like you had a wonderful weekend. I’m sorry, the meal prep description makes me want to cry lol I admire that. I never do that kind of prep, just don’t have it in me.
That library is so cute. I finally made a point to bring the kids on the regular and they love it!
Our weekend was okay- very warm and sunny. Spent a lot of time outside and on the reservation. Oh and dusted. But not mopped lol

Ernie said...

My head is spinning thinking about your Napa trip or the regular things you do in your work week. It sounds exhausting. No idea how you keep it all going. And, oh - the meal prep? Goodness. I'm home during the day and my meal prep is not that involved. I hope your travel plans align and nothing gets thrown off by a flight delay, etc.

NGS said...

I wore shorts to run once. And it's been tights every since. *sigh* I do not care for spring.

I love going to new libraries and I bet it's super lovely to take the boys to new ones to see how the children's areas compare.

Colleen said...

I loved the Berry Pickers. I'm going to look up reading a couple more on your list.

Stephany said...

Paul golfing is so cute! I can't stand it. Also, Taco looks so tall in that photo at the library!

I really hope you get a break from all this work travel - I don't know how you do it, friend!

Sophie said...

You have such great libraries for kids in your area! We also go to the library and love the visit, but ours have mostly just books and few toys, so it’s not such an outing. Sounds like a nice weekend, that early morning coffee and games/blogs in peace sounds delightful. That’s how I like to start my days too. So nice when little ones sleep a little longer isn’t it.

katielookingforward said...

I come from a family of golfers but am not a good golfer (it takes time, which I haven't given it). I highly recommend either the golden valley public course or the Theodore Wirth course both 9 holes and walking, which makes it a good workout! As long as you go with someone who's low key its great. I highly believe in doing your best, and once you're frustrated, take your ball to the green and putt. No need to keep score.

San said...

Phew, that must have been a whirlwind trip to Napa. I mean, it's Napa so hopefully it was fun, but on such a tight schedule!

Yay for quiet time and a run over the weekend!